Prayerfully
and reverently, for in each word there is another drop of eternal truth, and
all the words together make up the boundless ocean of the Eternal Truth.
The
Bible is not a book, but life; because its words are spiritual life (John
6:63). Therefore its words can be comprehended if we study them with the spirit
of its spirit, and with the life of its life.
It
is a book that must be read with life — by putting it into practice. One should
first live it, and then understand it.
Here
the words of the Savior apply: “Whoever,
is willing to do it — will understand that this teaching is from God” (John
7:17). Do it so that you may
understand it. This is the fundamental rule of Orthodox exegesis.
At
first one usually reads the Bible quickly, and then more and more slowly, until
finally he will begin to read not even word by word, because in each word he is
discovering an everlasting truth and an ineffable mystery.
Everyday
read at least one chapter from the Old and the New Testament; but side by side
with this put a virtue from each into practice. Practice it until it becomes a
habit to you.
Let
us say, for instance, that the first virtue is forgiveness of insults. Let this
be your daily obligation. And along with it pray to the Lord: “O gentle Lord,
grant me love towards those who insult me!”
And
when you have made this virtue into a habit, each of the other virtues after it
will be easier for you, and so on until the final one.
The
main thing is to read the Bible as much as possible. What the mind does not
understand, the heart will feel; and if neither the mind understands nor the
heart feels, read it over again, because by reading it you are sowing God’s
words in your soul.
And
there they will not perish, but will gradually and imperceptibly pass into the
nature of your soul; and there will happen to you what the Savior said about
the man who “Casts seed on the ground,
and sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, while the
man does not know it” (Mark 4:26-27).
The
main thing is: sow, and it is God Who causes and
allows what is sown to grow (1 Cor. 3:6). But do not rush success, lest you
become like a man who sows today, but tomorrow already wants to reap.
How to Read the Bible by Archimandrite Justin Popovich
Return to the first page
